Andrew O’Keefe returns to hosting duties on Channel Seven quiz show The Chase

Andrew O’Keefe has returned as host of The Chase Australia.    

New episodes of the popular quiz show premiered on Channel Seven on Tuesday, with the veteran star back behind the lectern. 

In the new episodes, social distancing measures are now in place, with contestants now spaced out behind the panel. 

It comes after the show recently took a break while Andrew, 48, took care of some personal issues. The break was later extended due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Filming of The Chase has stopped a number of times before. In November, Channel Seven gave Andrew time off to accommodate his touring schedule.

In April, the network gave Andrew time off to work on himself. 

He later told The Herald Sun that this eight-week break had allowed him to focus on his personal health. 

‘We all use different methods to escape from the most uncomfortable parts of our existence and I certainly was not using the most healthy ones,’ he said. 

‘I mean sleep would have been handy… The diet could have been better, fluids that had no decimal points in them would have been good.’

He continued: ‘I just could not see that I had the time or the strength to change that without removing myself entirely from the world for a bit.’

Andrew explained he had sought ‘time out in a clinic’ to deal with ‘unhelpful behaviours’ but did not go into further detail.

Andrew separated from his wife Eleanor in late 2017. 

The former couple share three children – Barnaby, 15, Rory, 12, and Olivia, eight.